Lowell-Burlington shuttle buses to be launched soon

LOWELL -- A new shuttle service connecting Lowell and Burlington is launching after four years of collaboration among state and local leaders.

The Middlesex 3 Coalition, in collaboration with a number of government officials, and the Chambers of Commerce in Lowell and Burlington are hoping with funding now in place, the service can begin in the coming months.

The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) recently awarded the program $290,000 over the course of three years. The Middlesex 3 Coalition, a regional partnership of nine communities in the county, also secured $125,000 from the commonwealth, funding a regional transportation coordinator during that three-year time frame.

State Rep. Ken Gordon, D-Bedford, said four years ago, he along with other leaders met with about a dozen Burlington restaurant owners who shared the common challenge of finding enough qualified employees to meet the needs of diners.

"We realized if we could fix the transportation problem, we could find the workers," Gordon said.

At the same time, Burlington residents had concerns about existing and future traffic. So, the goal was to bring workers into the Burlington area, namely to the restaurant businesses, without inundating the area with more traffic.

"We identified Lowell as an area where there were workers being trained in this industry looking for work who couldn't find work," he said. "Unemployment in Burlington is so low, it's hard to find people.

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We have a strong economy, so we're actually a victim of our own success."

Stephanie Cronin, executive director of the Middlesex 3 Coalition, said in 2014, they created the Middlesex 3 Transportation Management Association (TMA), which will operate this new service. She is hoping they will have a transportation coordinator in place by February.

"We've been doing a lot of work gearing up for this. We're thrilled that we have the funding and that we're in a great position to move forward and we were also extremely optimistic that it's going to really take off," Cronin said.

She said this is seed money to get the project off the ground and it will be the responsibility of the TMA and local businesses to keep the service sustainable.

"I think Lowell is doing very well, but the issue has been that for Lowell and all the surrounding communities to do better economically, we have to work together," Lowell Mayor Bill Samaras said. "When you're talking about shuttling, it's the direction that we should be going in."

Rick Parker, president of the Burlington Area Chamber of Commerce, said when they spoke with restaurant owners, they realized most of their employees lived within a five-mile radius of the businesses.

"Digging down a little deeper, it was really due to the lack of public transportation that runs late enough and on weekends, which is what the hospitality and restaurant industries require," Parker said.

Cronin said the goal is not to compete with the Lowell Regional Transit Authority, but just to fill in the gaps.

Aside from Gordon, Cronin said the project received tremendous support from state Reps. Dave Nangle, Tom Golden and Rady Mom, and Sen. Cindy Friedman.

"Burlington has such a vibrant local economy and a wide variety of successful businesses," Friedman said in a press release. "This program will be another opportunity for those businesses to access the workforce they need to succeed, ultimately strengthening our local and regional economies."

Parker said he strongly believes other sectors, like the retail industry, which is facing similar hurdles, will turn to this partnership model in the future.

"I think for the Burlington Area Chamber, this is really what defines the things that we do: coming up with meaningful solutions," he said.

Mid-shift shuttle services will also be available for when employees have to tend to a sick child or other emergencies. Specific drop-off and pick-up locations will be finalized soon with the program hopefully up and running in the next couple months, Cronin said.

"It's a classic win-win situation," Gordon said. "Everybody is going to be helped. It's going to help Lowell workers, it's going to help Burlington businesses and it's going to help with clean air."

Cronin said they will work with a third party for the shuttling service. The goal is to also expand this service to Bedford and Billerica, seniors and other community members in the future.

"It's difficult to accomplish some of these initiatives on your own especially when they're expensive," Cronin said. "But, this has been a great area for collaborating and partnerships. There's a lot of growth and a lot of potential in the whole (Route 3) corridor."

For more information on the Middlesex 3 Transportation Management Association, visit www.middlesex3tma.com.

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